Why we worship the sun
If you are anything like me then you are appalled at the state of the
weather currently.
Having been locked down on and off for the past 12 months, especially with the terrible weather in the first part of the 2021, I feel (and we all know these days feeling something makes you “right” even if the evidence says the opposite) I deserve and have earned around 4 months of uninterrupted sunshine.
There is something truly magical about sunshine hitting your skin.
Not only does it make vitamin D but also serotonin.
Plus vitamin D even helps make serotonin, double whammy!
No wonder it makes us feel good!
Niels Ryberg Finsen discovered that sunshine was an effective treatment for lupus vulgaris (do NOT look that up on the internet….) and was awarded the Nobel prize in 1903.
The we tried to make it all modern for tuberculosis treatment ruined it with windows which block out the UVB.
For thousands of year we have worshipped the sun, and with good reason.
Now we fear it.
One of the core commandments in the CCCN course is:
Consider why is my skin is so fair, while my very distant ancestors who evolved at the equator thousands of years ago had such dark skin?
We know that melanin protects skin from the sun acting as a sunscreen absorbing UVB, the part of sunlight that starts the production of vitamin D from a form of cholesterol.
So why over thousands of years did the humans that slowly migrated north develop lighter skin with less melanin?
Theory is as we migrated north and were exposed to less and less UVB, those with darker skin, had greater chance of developing rickets in childhood and when they tried to deliver their babies the mis-shaped pelvis increased the risk of death for both mother and baby.
Thus we have a selective evolutionary pressure, with those with paler skin tending to survive and reproduce.
I remember those Scandinavians from the north of Finland/Sweden/Norway during my five years at the AECC, they were as really, really fair and absolute vitamin D making machines.
Check out dark skin vs light skin for production (Type 5 is dark skin, type 2 pale).
So at the end of the summer in 2020, during which I had plenty of UVB, I got my 25(OH)D3 tested.
Frankly I was a little disappointed, at 93 nmol/L I was a little shy of the 125 minimum I would like to hit and the weather was pretty amazing, so I had not been supplementing.
Given we have worshipped the sun, given the multitude of benefits of UVB, in October I decided to invest in a UVB lamp specifically for making vitamin D au naturel in the winter.
The one from Sperti specifically, check Floyd out getting his D whilst looking like a serious player…..you can’t teach cool, you’ve either got it or you haven’t.
No doubt about it, that little bit of heat from the UVB lamp, feels gooooood on a winter morning.
And I tried to use it 5 minutes daily in the morning, but frankly failed for a few months, then I got serious, 5-10 minutes at least once every two days.
And finally remembered to get tested before the sun get stronger enough to make a difference.
So given I have taken no supplements for the whole winter, for the first time since 2007, I was pretty pleased.
Though I am topping up just a touch to make to make it mid 100’s to mimic own ancestors levels and those people living in a sunny climate year round.
Note the physiological dose on the chart is minimum 4000 IU
It is also worth noting that the vitamin D produced via the skin has a much longer half life than from supplements, see how the vitamin D stays in the blood for longer with UVB exposure (1MED is slightly pink) vs 10,000 or 25,000 IU supplements.
Worth also noting that full body UVB makes more than the 10,000 IU from supplements.
Hence we use 4000 IU in the Vitamin D TRIAD product to mimic a low dose regular sun exposure in the winter.
In the summer we definately (that mis-spelling is for all you Line of Duty fans), want to get natural sun exposure.
Safe UVB exposure is always best and you can educate patients on this via the free patient education videos here:
https://integrativecare.co.uk/
5-30 minutes in strong sun, depending on your skin tone, shadow must be shorter than you or at least the same height, NO LOTION (this must be pointed out to patients – the whole point of lotion is to block the UVB) and you can generate 10-20,000 IU’s.
At least 25% skin on show, hands/forearms and face is not enough, but the more the better without upsetting the neighbours.
When the weather is poor for weeks on end, or you just cannot get out between 11-4 pm, then you have to supplement.
Purchases are currently only in blocks of 10 pouches of 30’s or 60’s, but we will be adding the option to buy one pouch as a sample plus P&P so you can try before you commit to 10.
But practitioners and patients are loving the gentle tropic taste plus the science based and evolutionary congruent formula.
Remember if you do not sell them a quality supplement, they will by low dose poor quality formulas and no get the benefits they want.
When they are under 50 nmol/L the chances are this will at best reduce the benefits of care, at worst stop any response all together.
ACTIONS TO TAKE:
– Consider buying a Sperti lamp, or maybe just frequent a tanning salon for a few sunbeds if the weather is poor, full body exposure UVB for 5-10 minutes and you are flooded with vitamin D and serotonin.
– You will need to supplement to some extend over the summer, even with the best weather.